Footwear sole with bridging parts and resilient parts and footwear sole with adjustable parts



April 8, 1969 M. sAcHs 3,436,842 FOOTWEAR SOLE WITH BRIDGING PARTS AND RESILIENT PARTS WITH ADJUSTABLE PARTS v Sheet Z of 3 AND FOOTWEAR SOLE Filed March 1l, 1968 April 8, 1969 M. sAcHs 3,436,842 FOOTWEAR SOLE WITH BRIDGING PARTS AND RESILIENT PARTS AND FOOTWEAR SOLE.' WITH ADJUSTABLE PARTS Filed March ll, 1968 Sheet of 3 April 8, 1969 M. SACHS 3,436,842 FOOTWEAR SOLE WITH BRIDGING PARTS AND RESILIENT PARTS AND FOOTWEAR SOLE WITH ADJUSTABLE PARTS Filed March 1l, 1968 Sheet 3 of 3 INVENTOR MAXWELL SACHS U.S. Cl. 362.5 25 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLQSURE An article of footwear having an adjustable, resil-ient insole including an elastic strap and an adjustable buckle. The buckle is provided with a rearward hook detachably engaged in a socket located below the insole.

This invention relates to footwear and to means for adding to the comfort and assisting the exng thereof. More part-icularly this invention comprises improvements relating to the subject matter of my United States Letters Patent No. 2,691,227. The present application is a continuation-in-part of my co-pending application Ser. No. 601,215, filed Dec. 12, 1966, which was a continuationin-part of the following applications: Ser. No. 562,053, filed June 13, 1966; Ser. No. 399,269, tiled Sept. 25, 1964; Ser. No. 306,416, filed Aug. 30, 19613; and Ser. No.129,891, tiled Aug. 7, 1961; all of which are now abandoned.

The basic subject matter `of that patent and the persent invention pertains to a layer `or strap attached to the sole in the insole area and bridging at least a forward shank portion of the underlying sole when the footwear -is adjusted for wear, with resilient yeans yieldably resisting the forward movement of a portion of said layer or strap. This forward movement results in a settling downward ofthe bridging portion.

Because of the many variations between feet and between footwear, because shoes stretch to varying degrees after wear, and because of variations in the preferences of wearers as to degrees of tautness and of flexing pull, it is desirable to afford wearers an opportunity `to adjust the snugness and tension to suit their individual preferences rather than to be limited to the amount of tension which results from elastic material or other resilient means built into the foo-twear with a fixed adjustment. My invention provides the wearer with a selective adjustability of the tension through ymeans which are themselves distinct from and different in nature from the resilient means but which vary the amount of tension which is eX- erted `by the resilient means. This is accomplished by providing means for varying the relative length relationship between the length, in terms Vof its unstretched length, of the functioning part of the strap and the length of the sole area over which the functioning part of the strap extends.

Additional features of my invention will become readily apparent hereinafter.

My term insole -as used herein does not have any technical structural connotation other than relating it to an area which is on the inside of the shoe under what would be the position of the foot when the foot is in the shoe.

As my invention applies to footwear regardless of the construction of their soles, the term sole is used herein as a general term whether the construction involves an outersole without an innersole, as in some sandals, wherein the bridging part or layer may be attached directly to nite States Patent O if 3,436,842 Patented Apr. 8, 1969 the outersole, or whether there is an innersole to which the forepart of the bridging part or layer may be attached, as by cementing or stitching. Similarly the invention applies regardless of whether the bridging part or layer is entirely of a different material from the outersole or innersole or whether a part of the -outersole or innersole is split off to provide a section of the bridging part or layer.

The overlying part or layer may displace a sock lining for part of the area, more particularly in the ball and heel sections, with a partial sock lining being used in the shank section and the bridging area of the ball section. The overlying part or layer may be referred to as a sock lining, but a sock lining traditionally is merely a decorative material covering the underlying part of the sole.

The term layer in the case of the yoverlying layer, applies to the extent between positions of attachment, regardless of varying Widths of the material or materials of which it is composed and regardless of varying structural characteristics. The extent of the layer between positions of attachment includes mechanical attaching means, if there be such.

`My invention applied to footwear of any type and any heel height and is not limited to the technicalities of nomenclature. It can be applied to all types of construction, old or new.

In the accompanying drawings, there are shown illustrative embodiments of the invention from which these and other of its objectives, novel features, and advantages will be readily apparent.

In the drawings:

IFIGURE 1 is a top elevation `of a shoe in accordance with the invention,

FIGURE 2 is a partly sectioned side view thereof,

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary ltop plan View, on an increased scale, of the rear part of the sole with the socket,

FIGURE 4 is a section taken indicated lines 4-4 of FIGURE 3,

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary, top plan view of the overlying layer,

FIGURE 6 is a section taken approximately along t-he indicated lines 6--6 of FIGURE 5,

FIGURE 7 is a perspective View of the buckle,

FIGURE 8 is a like view of the socket,

IFIGURE 9 is a fragmentary top plan view of a modied form of an adjustable socket for connecting the overlying layer t-o the sole,

FIGURE 10 is a like view of a co-mpression spring confined in a hook-receiving socket anchored in the heel part of the sole,

FIGURE 11 is a fragmentary plan View of yet another modiiication of the rearward connection between the layer and the sole, and

FIGURE 12 is a similar view within a heel area socket,

FIGURE 13 is a fragmentary top plan View of the rear part of a sole with a socket,

FIGURE 14 is a section taken indicated lines 14-14 of FIGURE FIGURE 15 is a fragmentary, overlying layer,

FIGURE 16 is a perspective View of the buckle er1- larged to show details of the neck,

FIGURE 17 is a like view of the socket.

In FIGURES 1 and 2, a womans shoe is shown as including an upper 15 secured to a generally indicated sole 16 which is shown as consisting of an outer sole 17, an insole 18, and a shank stiifener 19 extending forwardly from the area of the heel 20. In the heel area of the sole substantially along the of an extension spring substantially along the 13, top plan view of an 3 16, there is a heel tuck 21 cemented or otherwise anchored to the heel portion of the tuck 19. The sole 16 includes, see FIGURE 2, a generally indicated ball section 22 and a generally indicated shank section 23 having an upward slope in the direction of the heel 2f?.

In accordance with the invention, a generally indicated layer 24 extends over the insole 18 and is attached to it forwardly of the junction between the ball section 22 and the forward portion of the shank section 23 and to the heel area of the sole structure by means of a connection presently to be described. Between the positions of attachment, a portion of the layer 24 has a bridging portion above the forward portion of the shank section 23. The layer 24 is shown as comprising a forward section 25 of inelastic material, a rear section presently to be described, and an intermediate section 26 of elastic material.

The construction of the rear portion of the layer 24 is best described with reference to FIGURES and 6 wherein a narrow ribbon or tape 27 is shown as secured between the rear end of the elastic material 26 and a transverse stiffening strip 28 and the stiffening strip 28 is secured to the front end of an inelastic heel section 29 forwardly of its bottom layer 30. The stiffening strip may also extend farther rearwardly. The bottom layer 30 has a cut-out 31 centrally of its front end to accommodate a part of the rearwardly extending ribbon 27.

The ribbon 27 is threaded through a buckle 32, best seen in FIGURE 7, in the manner illustrated by FIGURE 6 to provide means for attaching the buckle 32 thereto and for adjusting the length of the part of the ribbon 27 extending between the buckle 32 and the rear end of the elastic material 27 thus varying the unstretched length of the layer 24 between its positions of attachment. The ribbon 27 is preferably inelastic, but it may be partly or wholly elastic as may also the other materials of the layer 24. The use of material such as the ribbon 27 extending separately from the heel section 29 facilitates attaching and detaching of the rear end of the layer 24, as well as having other advantages in addition to providing a means for adjustability. It permits the attaching device to be depressed below the top surface of the innersole when attached, so as to avoid the possibility of the foot feeling it, without distorting the appearance of the top heel cover. At its rear end, the buckle includes a hook 33 in the form of a transverse bar extending below and laterally of its shank 34.

Referring now to FIGURES 3 and 4, it will be seen that the heel part of the tuck 19 and the heel tuck 21 have centrally located and vertically registering rectangular openings 35 and 36, respectively. A socket, generally indicated at 37 and best seen in FIGURE 8, has a pair of spaced, parallel, and inwardly disposed flanges 38 defining an open ended slot and in a plane slightly above that of the pair of outwardly disposed flanges 39. Adjacent the closed end of the slot, the socket 37 includes a depending, transverse end wall 40. The socket 37 is positioned, see FIGURE 4, with its end wall 40 against the forward boundary of the opening 35 and with its flanges 39 securely anchored between the tuck 21 and the tuck 19 when they are cemented together. The socket 37 is dimensioned so that the hook 33 may be entered below the flanges 38 to be slidably confined thereby.

It will be noted that the tuck 19 has a second opening 41 forwardly of its opening 35 and that the heel tuck 21 has a rectangular opening 42 in rearward communication with the opening 36 and dimensioned so that the opening 41 is centrally exposed to establish a recessed seat to accommodate the buckle 32 when the hook 33 is anchored to the sole 16 by the socket 37.

In FIGURE 9, a socket, generally indicated at 43 is shown as consisting of U-shaped parts 44 and 45 opening towards each other and spaced apart to enable the hook 33 to enter the part 44. The socket 43 has outwardly disposed flanges 46 anchored by the tuck 21A. The

spacers 47, two of which are shown in the socket part 44 with three of them being stored in reserve in the part 4S, are used to alter the rear position o-f attachment of the layer 24 so as to modify the tensioning thereof by varying the distance between the forward and rearward attaching positions.

In FIGURE 10, a socket is generally indicated at 48 and is shown as having outwardly disposed flanges 49 anchored by the tuck 21B and housing a compression spring 50 whose rearward end is engageable by the hook 33 when entered in the socket 48 below its spaced inturned flanges 51.

In FIGURE ll, a heel tuck 21C is shown as having a rectangular aperture 52 in which there is exposed an anchoring loop 53 attached to a ribbon section 54 which is shown as cemented between the tuck 21 and the stiffener 19C. A ribbon 27C is adjustably threaded through a buckle 32C and the buckle 32C has a rearward and downwardly disposed hook 33C to be caught by the loop 53. The aperture S2 is dimensioned therein to receive the buckle and its hook.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated by FIG- URE l2, a generally indicated socket 55 has outwardly disposed flanges 56 anchored by the attachment of the tuck 21D. An extension spring 57 has its rear end anchored within the socket 55 and its front end terminating in a loop 58 exposed to enable a hook such as the hook 33C of FIGURE l1 to be attached thereto.

The sockets of FIGURES l0 and 12 may be used with or without elastic material in the layer 24.

In FIGURE 13 the socket 59, best seen in FIGURE 17, is shown positioned in the heel end of the innersole 60, shown in fragmentary plan view, with FIGURE 14 showing a sectional view. The socket 59 includes a rear part 61 with a slot 62, -a long front flange 63, and an upward protrusion 64. The hole 65 has an intermediate wide portion 66, and a narrow front portion 67 in which the upward protrusion 64 of the socket 59 is positioned t-o prevent the socket from being pulled forward. The wide portion 66 of the hole 65 is dimensioned to accommodate the cross-barred part 68 of the buckle 69, best seen in FIGURE 16.

FIGURE 15 shows a fragmentary top plan view of an overlying layer 70 similar to the layer of FIGURE S, with broken line 71 showing stitching in the area of the rear end of the elastic section 72, and broken line 73 showing stitching rearward of the elastic section. Both rows of stitching go through all thicknesses of the layer 70, including the ribbon 74.

In addition to facilitating the use of a ribbon to thread through an adjusting device, the use of a separate layer for the attaching device, with the part of the layer to which the device is attached being movable away from the cover layer, permits the depression of the attaching parts below the top surface of the sole sufficiently to avoid discomfort to the foot while at the same time avoiding distortion of the cover layer. It also permits the use of a thicker or firmer, although still preferably flexible, cover section with a thinner, narrower, or more pliable material for the attaching layer to enable easier manipulation and better vision during attaching and detaching. The separate layer with the attaching device can be fastened directly to the elastic material or indirectly by being attached to a part of the cover section rearward of the elastic material, or in both areas, as in the case of the two rows of stitching 71 and 73 in FIGURE 15.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that footwear in accordance with the invention will be improved in comfort, lit, and functioning. Among the advantages of the adjustability features are the ability to adapt the tension and snugging characteristics of footwear to meet variations in individual requirements and preferences. The invention is not limited to the illustrative embodiments of the invention that have been shown and described and although detachability is not essential to adjustability, it facilitates the use of adjusting devices.

I claim:

1. In an aricle of footwear, a sole having heel, shank, and ball sections, and a layer extending over the insole area of said sole Afrom a position forwardly of the junction between the shank and the ball sections to a position rearwardly of said junction and being attached to said sole at said positions, said layer including an elastic section between said positions of attachment, a forward portion of said shank section having an upward slope in the direction of said heel section with a portion of said layer having a bridging position above said forward shank portion and above a portion of said ball section when said footwear is adjusted for wear and said layer is not depressed by the foot ot a wearer, and a device connected to said layer for altering, in terms of its unstretched length, the length of said layer which extends between said positions of attachment, said device providing a type of adjustability additional to and different in kind from tnat afforded by said elastic section.

2. In an article of footwear, a sole having heel, shank, and ball sections, and a layer extending over the insole area of said sole from a position forwardly of the junction between the shank and the ball sections to a position rearwardly of said junction and being attached to said sole at said positions, said layer including an elastic section between said positions of attachment, a forward portion of said shank section having an upward slope in the direction of said heel section with a portion of said layer having a bridging position above said forward shank portion and above a portion of said ball section when said footwear is adjusted for wear and said layer is not dcpressed by the foot of a wearer, and a buckle connected to said layer for altering the length of said layer which extends between said positions of attachment, said buckle providing a type of adjustability addition to and different in kind that afforded by said elastic section.

3. In an article of footwear, a sole having heel, shank, and ball sections, and a layer extending over the insole area of said sole from a position forwardly of the junction between the shank and the ball sections to ya position rearwardly of said junction and being attached to said sole at said positions, said layer including an elastic section between said positions of attachment, a forward portion of said shank section having an upward slope in the direction of said heel section with a portion of said layer having a bridging position above said forward shank portion and above a portion of said ball section when said footwear is adjusted for wear and said layer is not depressed by the foot of a wearer, and a device connected to said layer for taking `up and letting out, in terms of its unstretched length, a part of the length of said layer which extends between said positions of attachment,

said device providing a type of adjustability additional to and different in kind from that afforded by said elastic section.

4. In an article of footwear, a sole having heel, shank, and ball sections, and a layer extending over the insole area of said sole from a position forwardly of the junction between the shank and the ball sections to a position rearwardly of said junction and being attached to said sole at said positions, a forward portion of said shank section having an upward slope in the direction of said heel section with a portion of said layer having a bridging position above said forward shank portion and above a portion of said ball section when said footwear is adjusted for wear and said layer is not depressed by the foot of a wearer, said layer including between said positions of attachment an elastic section and an inelastic section, and a device connected to said inelastic section for taking up and letting out part of the length of said inelastic section extending between said positions.

5. In an article of footwear, a sole having heel, shank,

and ball sections, and a layer extending over the insole area of said sole from a position forwardly of the junction between the shank and the ball sections to a position rearwardly of said junction and being attached to said sole at said positions, a forward portion of said shank section having an upward slope in the direction of said heel section with a portion of said layer having a bridging position above said forward shank portion and above a portion of said ball section when said footwear is adjusted for wear and said layer is not depressed by foot of a wearer, said layer including between said positions of attachment an elastic section and an inelastic section, said inelastic section being rearward of said elastic section and being narrower than said elastic section, and a device connected to said inelastic section for taking up and letting out part of the length of said inelastic section extending between said elastic section and said rearward position of attachment.

6. In an article of footwear, a sole having heel, shank, and ball sections, and a layer extending over the insole area of said sole from a position forwardly of the junction between the shank and the ball sections to a position rearwardly of said junction and being attached to said sole at said positions, a forward portion of said shank section having an upward slope in the direction of said heel section with a portion of siad layer having a bridging position above said forward shank portion and above a portion of said ball section when said footwear is adjusted for wear and said layer is not depressed by the foot of a wearer, said layer including between said positions of attachment a portion movable in a direction lengthwise of said sole, a resilient element yieldably resisting the forward movement of said movable portion, and a device connected to said layer for taking up and letting out, in terms of its unstretched length, part of the length of said layer which extends between said positions of attachment, said device providing a type of adjustability additional to and different in kind from that afforded by said resilient element.

7. In an article of footwear, a sole having heel, shank, and ball sections, and a layer extending over the insole area of said sole from a position forwardly of the junction between the shank and the ball sections to a position rearwardly of said junction and being attached to said sole at said positions, a forward portion of said shank section having an upward slope in the direction of said heel section with a portion of said layer having a bridging position above said forward shank portion and above a portion of said ball section when said footwear is adjusted for wear and said layer is not depressed by the foot of a wearer, said layer including between said positions of attachment a portion movable in a direction lengthwise of said sole, a resilient element yieldably resisting the forward movement of said movable portion, and a buckle connected to said layer for altering the length of said layer which extends between said positions of attachment, said buckle providing a type of adjustability additional to and different in kind from that afforded by said resilient element.

8. In an article of footwear, a sole having heel, shank, and ball sections, and a layer extending over the insole area of said sole from a position forwardly of the junction between said shank and ball sections to a position rearwardly of said Ijunction and being attached to said sole at said positions, a forward portion of said shank section having an upward slope in the direction of said heel section, and between said positions of attachment said layer being shorter than the underlying portion of said sole and including a portion movable in a direction lengthwise of said sole, a resilient element yieldably resisting the forward movement of said movable portion, and said rearward attachment including an adjustable connection between said layer and said sole for varying, in terms of the unstretched length of said layer, the difference in the respective lengths between said positions of attachment of said layer and the area of said sole over which said layer extends, said connection providing a type of adjustability additional to and different in kind from that afforded by said resilient element.

9. In an article of footwear, a sole having heel, shank, and ball sections, and a layer extending over the insole area of said sole from a position forwardly of the junction between the shank and the ball sections to a position rearwardly of said junction and being attached to said sole at said positions, a forward portion of said shank section having an upward slope in the direction of said heel section with a portion of said layer having a bridging position above said forward shank portion and above a portion of said ball sections when said footwear is adadjusted for wear and said layer is not depressed by the foot of a wearer, said layer including between said positions of attachment a portion movable in a direction lengthwise of said sole, a compression spring being attached to said layer and yieldably resisting the forward movement of said movable portion.

10. In an article of footwear, a sole having heel, shank, and ball sections, and a layer extending over the insole area of said sole from a position forwardly of the junction between the shank and the ball sections to a position rearwardly of said junction and being attached to said sole at said positions, a forward portion of said shank section having an upward slope in the direction of said heel section with a portion of said layer having a bridging position above said forward shank portion and above a portion of said ball section when said footwear is adjusted for wear and said layer is not depressed by the foot of a wearer, said layer including between said positions of attachment a portion movable in a direction lengthwise of said sole, a spring being attached to said layer and yieldably resisting the forward movement of said movable portion, said spring having a part in a channel below the surface of said sole.

11. In an article of footwear, a sole having heel, shank, and ball sections, and a layer extending over the insole area of said sole from a position forwardly of the junction between the shank and the ball sections to a position rearwardly of said junction and being attached to said sole at said positions, and between said positions said layer including an elastic section and a forward portion of said shank section having an upward slope in the direction of said heel section with said layer being shorter than the underlying portion of said sole when said footwear is adjusted for wear and said layer is not depressed by the foot of a wearer, and a device connected to said layer for altering, in terms of its unstretched length, the length of said layer which extends between said positions of attachment, said device providing a type of adjustability additional to and different in kind from that afforded by said elastic section.

12. In an article of footwear, a sole having heel, shank, and ball sections, and a layer extending over the insole area of said sole from a position forwardly of the junction between the shank and the ball sections to a position rearwardly of said junction and being attached to said sole at said positions, the attachment at said rearward position being detachable, and between said positions said layer including an elastic section and a forward portion of said shank section having an upward slope in the direction of said heel section with said layer being shorter than the underlying portion of said sole when said footwear is adjusted for wear and said layer is not depressed by the foot of a wearer, the portion of said layer extending rearward of said elastic section including a covering part attached to the rearward portion of said elastic material and an underpart extending under said covering part and connecting said layer to said detachable attachment, said underpart being separable from said covering part in the area of said detachable connection.

13. The article of claim 12 in which said underpart 8 is narrower than said covering part in the area of said detachable connection.

14. The article of claim 12 in which said underpart is more pliable than said covering part.

15. The article of claim 12 in which said underpart is thinner than said covering part.

16. The article of claim 12 in which said underpart includes a narrow tapelike portion and said detachable connection is attached to said narrow tapelike portion.

17. In an article of footwear, a sole having heel, shank, and ball sections, and a layer extending over the insole area of said sole from a position forwardly of the junction between the shank and the ball sections to a position rearwardly of said junction and being attached to said sole at said positions, the attachment at said rearward position being detachable, and between said positions said layer including an elastic section and an inelastic section rearward of said elastic section with a forward portion of said shank section having an upward slope in the direction of said heel section and said layer being shorter than the underlying portion of said sole when said footwear is adjusted lfor wear and said layer is not depressed by the foot of a wearer, said inelastic section connecting said layer to said detachable attachment, and a covering layer attached to said footwear and extending over said inelastic section, said inelastic section being separable from said covering layer in the area of said detachable attachment, and said covering layer being movable to expose said inelastic section in said area.

18. The article of claim 17 in which said inelastic section is narrower than said elastic section in the area of said detacha-ble attachment.

19. The article of claim 17 in which said inelastic section is more pliable than said covering layer.

20. The article of claim 17 in which said inelastic section includes a narrow tapelike portion and said detachable attachment is attached to said narrow tapelike portion.

21. A footwear sole layer including an inelastic ball section, an elastic section extending in the shank area, and rearwardly of said elastic section a heel section including a narrow tapelike section, a buckle through which said tapelike section is threaded, said buckle having a plurality of crossbars with one of said bars being at least partially depressed below the level of the others, a part for detachable attachment, and a covering section connected to said elastic section and extending over said tapelike section, said covering section being wider than said tapelike section in the area of said part for detachable attachment.

22. The article of claim 21 in which said part for detachable attachment includes a narrow neck attached to said buckle and extending rearward then downward and then widening out on each side.

23. In an article of footwear, a sole having heel, shank, and ball sections, a socket depressed in said sole in said heel area, said socket including side, front, and top walls, and side anges extending out sideways from the lower part of each of said side walls and under material of said sole, ya channel running from front to rear in the central area of said top wall and extending partway down said front wall, said channel opening toward the rear of said sole, a flange attached to the lower part of the front wall of said socket and extending forward, then bending upward and extending forward again for a shorter distance, then bending downward and then forward again and extending under material of said sole.

24. A footwear sole layer including an elastic shank section, and rearwardly of said elastic shank section a heel section including a narrow inelastic tapelike section, said tape-like section being narrower than said elastic shank section, a buckle through which said tapelike section is adjustably threaded, said buckle having a plurality of crossbars with one of said crossbars being at least partially depressed below the level of the others,

and said buckle having a narrow neck extending rearwardly from said part of said buckle which includes said cross'bars, said neck then bending downward and having parts extending from the lower part of the downwardly extending portion of said neck to form a hooking section for detachable attachment to the sole, and a heel section of inelastic material attached to the rear end of said elastic material and extending over said narrow tapelike section, said heel section of inelastic material being wider than said tapelike section.

25. In an article of footwear, a sole having heel, shank and ball sections, a socket depressed in said sole in said heel area, said socket including a front wall extending downward, said sections extending in a horizontal direction under material of said sole on each side of said socket, and a top wall having a slot running from rear to front in its central area and extending partway down said front wall, said slot having an entrance toward the rear of said sole, said sole having an aperture extending rearwardly of said entrance to said slot, and said sole having an aperture in said heel area forwardly of said front wall of said socket.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 6/ 1961 Great Britain.

l5 PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner.

U.S. C1. XR. 

